of chicago



UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

ROSS HUNTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 CHARLES F.NAFTZGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. '7, 1919.

shoe for working men whic has preferably a sole of wood or the like andincludes means for permitting the movement of the sole as the wearerwalks. 7

The object of this invention is to provide a durable shoe made of woodor other relatively inflexible material and at the same time make theshoe flexible in its action, the parts of the shoe cooperating in anovel manner.

Generally speaking, I accomplish these and other objects by roviding ashoe having preferably a woo en heel and sole connected by a metallicstrip or other flexible material and providing an insole of wood, or thelike, which is preferably jointed to permit certain flexibility of theshoe.

am aware that reinforced shoes have heretofore been made for wear by menengaged in work in plaoes where the ground is h or in steel mills, andthe like where lent er soles and heels wear but 8. compare tively shorttime due to the unusual conditions existing. To overcome the wear ofleather, pl'OVlSiODS have been made such as fastenin webbin and the likeon the bottoms of gather si es and heels and lately, of forming solesincluding the heel portions with metal and securin the up ers to themetal bottoms so form An 0 jection to this type of shoe is that the soleis rigid and permits no movement as the wearer moves about, thus quicklytiring the feet and to a large extent overcoming the advantage ofproviding a shoe with a metal sole. It is the primary object of aninvention to form a. working man o shoe w ich will possessall theadvent-us features of a reiniorced heel and solo portion and at the ometime possess the flexibility of a shoe having a leather solo.

The objects of my invention will be more apparent from an observation ofthe drawmgs wherein a preferred embodiment of my shoe 15 shown.

Figure 1 shows a. side elevation of the preferred embodiment of myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through F ig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a. vertical section on line 3-3 of F ii 2.

4 is a vertical section through the toe portion of the shoe showing themodified form of applying the waterproof portion.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the heel portion showing thearrangement of the various elem nts, and

ig. 6 i a Sect on t rough a heel o ti n showing a modified term of heelcushion.

'ljhe referred embodiment of my shoe which Shall herein describecomprises the usual upper 10 of sufficiently heavy leather pro ded w h yet 11 and a es 1.2. he sole I prefer to make by employing a sole portion13 preferably of wood or similar material and a heel 14 of likematerial, the contour of the members 13 and 14 bein made to correspondto the style or shape of shoe de- SIDE d Ass-an insole I form a frontortion loa'nd a freer portion 16, preferably 0 wood, although these mabe made of other material if desired. Tl

form a sliding joint 17 a so that as the wearer walks, the sole willmove slightly and follow foot movement andi-n this way reach the someflexibility and give a, livelier foot movement than that of a leathersole. If desired, the member 16 may be raised at 16 to fit the instepportion of the foot.

a waterproof or insulating means I prefer to employ an insole membersurroundingthe portions 15 and 16 and extending under the sai mem ersThi in le porion is designated as 17 and is readily observed in lgs. 2and 3. By extending it amend thgeqmembers. 15 and 16 the foot is te h ata s d However, i

esir d, .1 m y eve se applicati n of 00 e adjacent ends of theseportions are preferably wedge shaped to this member by extending itacross the top portions 15 and 16 and downwardly around the edges ofsaid members tacking same on the underside of the portions 15 and 16. Inthe latter construction, it is possible to surround the members 15 and16 with such a water-proof material so as to not puncture said materialexcept underneath the members 15 and 16 which method of fasteningprevents all chances of admission of water or the like to the interiorof the shoe. In this construction, the upper 10 and the insulatinginsole 17 would be tacked to the under portions of the sole members 15and 16 and then applied to the soles and heels 13 and 14. Between theinsoles 15 and 16 and the sole portions 13 and 14 I prefer to insert ametal strip 18, the contour of which is made to conform to the shape ofthe shoe when finished, although I do not wish to be considered asmaking a special fea ture of the contour of this metal plate 18. Theinsoles 15 and 16 are then secured to the sole and heel portions 13 and14 by rivets or bolts 19 or the like. The ends to be riveted or boltedare preferably in the exposed portions of the members 14, 15. If desiredwebbing, scra leather, rubber, or similarmaterial may e secured to theunder portions of the members 13 and 14, as an additional reinforcingmeans. In the form of shoe as shown I have surrounded the toe and heelportions with metal strips 20, 21, servin as additional protectorsagainst wear at t e sides of the shoes. If desired, the members 20, 21may be extended around the lower edges of the members 13 and 14, thusproviding additional wearing surface to these portions.

It is a well known fact that in a shoe of any kind a cushion in the heelis very desirable. In the form shown I have formed in the rear portionof the insole member 16 a slotted portion 22 leaving the upper member 23of which free at the rear end. This, therefore, acts in the manner of aspring board so that when the wearer takes a step or bears his weightdownwardly, a cushion effect will result, thus increasing the comfort ofsuch shoes. A cushion eifect is obtained in the instep portion of thearch but in a different manner. By reason of the fastening of the heeland the member 18, the latter will give slightl as the weight of thewearer is transferred thereto aflfor-ding a' support for the foot andgiving a spring action in Walking. The under side of the member '16 maybe spaced slightly from the member 18 which will act as a springboardand afford additional comfort inwaki. j

,As' the shoes are used when taking a step the revision ofthe joint 17permits the mem ers '16 to'move orride on the rear portion of the insolemember 15 and by reason of the particular arrangcn'ient of these membersa mating joint is made so that articulation of the sole will result,while at the same time allording a smooth support for lhc foot andpreventing squeezing of any portion thereof between the movin ends ofthe members 16 and 17. By making the adjacent ends with one slightlyconvex and the other concave a rolling action will result which willmaterially assist in comfortable walking. It will be noted that theinstep portion follows the foot so that at all times there is somecontact between the foot and the instep portion. Also as the instepportion rides on the inner sole a rolling or rocking bearing is made onthe flexible connector 18, thus eliminating a point contact or a linecontact with the member 18 and doing away with all breakage experiencedby a localized application of wei hi: to the member 18 as would followif tie rolling contact were not secure.

It is believed that the construction and arrangement of the shoe will beapparent from the foregoing description. I do not wish to limit myinvention to the exact form shown and described as I am aware thatmodifications will be made to meet the varying conditions of use and Iwish to include all such modifications as coming within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe comprising an outer sole, an inner sole having a forward and arearward portion, a heel, the rearward portion of said inner sole beingseparate from the forward portion and having a movable and ridingengagement therewith, a reinforcing plate positioned between the innersole portions and the outer sole and heel, and means for rigidlyconnecting the inner sole portions, outer sole and reinforcing plate.

2. A shoe comprising an outer sole, an: inner sole having separatecooperatmgpor tions one of which has a movable-and. riding engagementwith respect to the other, a'heel,

a reinforcing plate positioned between the inner sole portions and theouter sole and heel, and means for rigidly connecting the inner soleportions, outer sole and reinforcing plate.

3. A shoe comprising an outer sole, an inner sole having separatecooperati 1 portions one of which has a movable an riding engagementwith respect to the other, a heel, said outer sole, inner solepositioned between the inner sole ortions and the outer sole and heel,an means rigidly connecting the inner'sole portions,

outer sole and reinforcing plate.

ortionsandi heelbeing made of wood, a rein orcing plate tions one ofwhich has a, movable and riding engagement with respect to the other, aheel, said outer sole, inner sole portions and heel being made of wood,one of said inner sole 5 gortlons being slotted to increase theflexiil'ity of the shoe, a reinforcing plate positioned between theinner sole portions and the outer Sole and heel, and means rigidlyconneetin the inner sole portions, outer sole and rein orcing plate.

Signed at Chicago, State of Illinois this 17 day of April, A. D., 1918.

ROSS HUNTER.

(topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O.

